Only after the urging of her professor, Kimberley Esslinger entered her short mixed-media video into the 22nd Annual California State University Media Arts Festival (MAF). She earned fourth place in the experimental category. “I wasn't even going to enter this project because it really didn't fit in any category. I thought it was just a throw away,” Esslinger said of her 1:16 minute video “Noble Truth 2,” which she did on the Buddhist second noble truth–desire, for a digital graphics class (ART 346) taught by assistant professor, art and design Elli Zenhari last spring. “I was so surprised when I saw that I was a finalist. I felt really super honored because it wasn't just for our class, ... Read More
Art and Design
Day of the Dead: A Lively Celebration
An altar adorned with papel piccado (festive cut tissue paper) sits strewn with candles, edible calaveras de azúcar (sugar skulls), fishing rods and lures, potato chips, hard liquor, and a pack of cigarettes. But fishermen haven't snuck into church for late night fun. This altar, or ofrenda, was constructed at California State University, Dominguez Hills for Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) in honor of the late Rodney King. In years past, alumna and former staff member Victoria Almeida (Class of '92, B.A., fine art) has made private tributes to loved ones, but she constructed this ofrenda as part of a “Day of the Dead Altars” exhibit being displayed concurrently with the national ... Read More
Life and Art a Work-In-Progress for Alumna Jeanne Allen
Artist, retired teacher, and California State University, Dominguez Hills alumna Jeanne Anderson Allen (Class of '82, M.A., humanities) has always found a way to keep following her passions. One of those ways, which led her to CSU Dominguez Hills, was putting a slew of extra units to use – in the form of a master's degree. “As a teacher, you're always going to class to get something that's required here or there. So, I added up all these units I had and I thought I should utilize this and make it into something that's worthwhile for me,” recalled Allen. “I thought the humanities program at Dominguez would be ideal because I like literature, art, music, religion and history. The ... Read More
Peter Rodney (1948-2012): Theatre Professor’s Love of Teaching was Never an Act
California State University, Dominguez Hills, and the Department of Theatre and Dance have lost one of their leading men. Peter Rodney, professor of theatre arts, died on Saturday, April 14, after a long illness. He was 63. Rodney was born on April 29, 1948, in New York, New York. A fan of stage and screen from an early age, he was bitten by the acting bug in high school, when he played Devil in “Damn Yankees.” He continued performing in theatre productions while at Queens College of The City University of New York, where he majored in speech therapy. The college did not offer a theatre degree at the time; however he was able to incorporate theatre into his studies, using it as a tool ... Read More
Students and Faculty Show Work at American Museum of Ceramic Art
California State University, Dominguez Hills senior studio arts students Luis Avalos and Marco Cabrera, along with assistant professor of ceramic arts Jim Keville, have been selected to exhibit their ceramic art work at the American Museum of Ceramic Art (AMOCA) in Pomona. The exhibit “KilnOpening.edu 2012,” which showcases ceramic works of Southern California instructors and their students, opened with an artist's reception on April 14, and will continue through June 30. For the selection process each student was allowed to submit one piece and each ceramics professor could submit up to three pieces. The pieces submitted by Avalos and Cabrera (whose entry is actually a pairing of two ... Read More
